EC Tax Law

Tax law and fiscal policy are subjects close to the heart of the Single European Market, yet EC tax law is highly complex. This new edition examines in detail the rules and principles of Community law relating to taxation, and uncovers the links between policy and law-making, to provide a firm understanding of the principles of EC tax law.

This new edition of EC Tax Law provides a detailed and extensive survey of EC tax legislation and case law. With the generalist lawyer in mind, the volume contains an introduction to VAT and to the basic principles of company taxation. It deals at some length with the legislation and case law on VAT (which is almost completely harmonized at the EC level) and excise duties. In relation to indirect taxation it analyses the case law on Article 90 of the EC Treaty which prohibits fiscal discrimination against goods from other Member States. In the area of direct taxation it covers the existing legislation on company taxation, and also the recent case law of the EC Court applying the treaty articles on the free movement of persons, services, and capital. The volume provides a detailed analysis of the legislation and its interpretation by the European Court, and also an analysis of the impact of the State aid rules in the tax field and the growing concern over what is often called unfair tax competition.